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Im so annoyed, i post this "off topic" because im not asking about nutrition related to HIV....

but its so annoying because everyone says something different. My goal is to put on more muscle and increase size but dont want to put TOO much body fat on in the process, so the nutritionist told me to eat less, lower weights with higher reps. I know his logic is flawed for my goals , he is giving me more of a "tone up" routine which is nice, i want to be toned but i also want to get bigger....

The people at the gym say eat more, lift high weights, lower reps, get bigger...then slowly diet and burn the fat off without burning muscle (hence it must be done slowly)....nutrition/exercise is ANNOYING because its so hard to get it right :-(...

Problem is if i dont eat enough i feel like i was hit by a bus the next day if i go to the gym, and right now i feel weak, dizzy, and lethargic which is usually an effect of a caloric deficit so i HATE dieting because of this feeling....I ate a protien shake, and some whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and my body still wants food AHHHHHHH

-josh(who knows he needs to stop drinking because that is counterproductive to his goals)

The gym bunnies are right: eat more. What the doctor is advising may help with toning, but if you want mass, you must go for more calories. Think of it like making a large sculpture: you need a lot of clay to work with, right? And you pare it down slowly and carefully from there.

The main thing is to divvy the meals up into numerous (yet smaller) portions throughout the day. I'd say try for about 6 meals a day, but each meal being roughly the size of your open hand- not some giant super-sized platter. And tons of protein!

My diet tips when I was trying the same goal:

I baked a mess of chicken on Sunday and had it ready to parcel out throughout the following week. Baked, not fried...and seasoned with herbs for flavor. Herbs and spices work wonders. I can't over emphasize that.

I also boiled a heap of eggs to have throughout the week (sans most of the yellows).

I also bought those little $2-3 packs of turkey (like Bryan or Oscar Meyer) and ate them like snacks just by themselves.

I supplemented with protein shakes.

Brown rice (also cooked on Sunday) for sides with the chicken.

If I remember correctly, I targeted about 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight per day...roughly 160 g of protein per day. I also kept the carbs low- but NOT non-existant. And fats even lower.

Truthfully, it seemed that in the bulking up that way, most of the "toning" just happened along the way.

Yea that worked for me when i was toning but i didnt seem to bulk up...i guess my caloric needs might be a little bit higher, and are probably higher now since i have HIV and not on meds, which actually just made me realize why people kept saying i was getting to skinny even though i didnt change my diet before, i kept losing weight unless i ate A LOT of food which is what i do now...

but i guess i need to cut out the fatty foods a bit more but if i just eat chicken, rice, and veggies i will get toned but not bigger....ive tried that :-(

but if i eat prime rib, potoatoes, veggies, and the sugars i gain weight but also put on fat along with muscle....

So i guess ill have to try something different..... maybe eat 1.5 fistfull of the chicken and rice instead of 1

yea i stretch well, and drink tons of water...also drink tons of diet coke, but ive always done that....diet coke causes cancer so they say lol id like to hear bimaz thought on aspartame and 100000% increase cancer on HIV+ people on HAART

I agree with thunter, although I have never been able to do the 6 portions thingie. But eat more, after exercise concentrate on protein/carbs, then when you eat outside of exercise concentrate on nutrients for the entire body, avoiding the carbs. That worked very well for me when I was hot and with a 6 pack. That's what i'm back on since sunday.

Yea but if you cut out the carbs the rest of they day dont you feel like shit and weak??? this is a problem for me since it affects my brain function lol....oh well summers coming up so i can be dumb as a rock for 2 months since im only taking 1 class

yea i stretch well, and drink tons of water...also drink tons of diet coke, but ive always done that....diet coke causes cancer so they say lol id like to hear bimaz thought on aspartame and 100000% increase cancer on HIV+ people on HAART

I will stretch you more

Also, leg exercise pumps much more than upper body exercise, so eat more when you do legs, and don't forget to breathe well, because if you block the breathing you won't pump as well.

OK so 3 days on cutting back a little bit on the eating (mainly at night), running a bit more also i did HIIT (high intensity interval training) last night, and because of this i ended up sleeping 11-12 hours i feel weak hehe.....but my bf monitoring scale which i know is not accurate but im hoping its precise says i lost a 1% bodyfat haha

I cant wait for the skimpy underwear and bathing suits from that site PHILLY posted to get in...the beach is quite nice here right now

Hello, Josh, and welcome to my world. There is so much information on the net out there on gaining muscle and losing fat I think that it almost as prevalent as porn. You can go to bodybuilding.com and read all different kinds of ideas from all different kinds of obsessive people. It is frustrating enough that it makes you feel like saying "screw it, pass the Krispy Kremes."

I subscribe to the bulking and cutting approach to muscle gain and fat lose. Lift heavy, cut back on cardio and eat a large amounts of food 6 times a day, mainly protein, healthy carbs, unsaturated fats. Then once you have gained some mass you get rid of the fat by continuing to lift heavy, continuing to eat 6 times a day but cut the quantity, limit the carbs and introduce cardio.

I bulked from 175lbs to 186, which for me and my wacked out digestive system was really good. Now I've cut down to 172 and I've got a little more fat left to lose but I am the strongest I have ever been in my life. Dieting completely sucks and I would never do this if I hadn't agreed to enter a bodybuilding competition. I also think doing this diet is not the healthiest thing for me. A little fat reserve would be nice in case I get sick and need to be hospitalized.

I agree the people on bodybuilding.com are obsessive and i myself have been obsessive about reading the information on there myself....The bulk/cut approach is what ive been doing recently and i have went from 175 to 190. I just recently started cutting back the food a bit and introducing more cardio and its amazing how quickly you see results BUT you feel like shit because your using your fat/muscle stores as energy....

I guess my dilema is how high i should bulk before cutting, i guess since summer is coming up ill try and diet for the next 2-3 months and then eat more...if i do a continuing bulk id probably go to high in bf%....its annoying because no matter what you do its almost impossible to "lose fat, and build muscle" at the same time, unless your a genetic freak